The following levels of maturity of subordinates are distinguished. Leadership styles depending on the maturity of the group. What is "maturity"

The famous social psychologist Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) proposed the concept according to which the entire complex palm of leadership is located on a scale between the polar positions: “autocracy” and “non-intervention”, between which is the position of “democracy”. The range of styles was so successfully captured by Levin that it turned out to be classic. And so far everything offered modern concepts revolve around his ideas.
Individual characteristics of a leader's behavior in the management process are usually considered as a leadership style. Each person has his own natural inclinations; my own way of communicating with people, developed over the years. Once at the helm of leadership, he tends, in most cases, to use one style: authoritarian, democratic (collegial) or laissez-faire.
Leadership style is individual characteristics a personal, relatively stable system of methods, methods, and techniques for the manager’s influence on the team for the purpose of effective and high-quality performance of management functions; This is a system of managerial influences of a manager on subordinates, determined by the specifics of the tasks assigned to the team, the relationship of the manager with his subordinates and the scope of his official powers. Let's consider the features of the main leadership styles.

Authoritarian(directive, rigid, autocratic) style. With the strict application of this style, the leader builds his behavior in accordance with the principles of the formal structure of relationships. Such a leader keeps his distance from the team and tries to avoid informal contacts. He assumes full power and responsibility for what is happening in the organization, tries to personally control the entire scope of relationships in the organization, paying attention not only to the result, but also to the process of doing the work. Decisions are made by him alone. Employees receive only the information they need for their work. A leader of this type, as a rule, is powerful, demanding, focused only on the target function, and strictly demands that his orders be carried out. It is characterized by excessive centralization of power and a thirst for subordination. Such a leader, as a rule, cannot stand criticism, is rude to subordinates, and is self-confident. The main method of influence is an order.

Collegial(democratic) style. This type of leader combines in his work an orientation towards both the formal and informal structure of relationships with subordinates, maintains friendly relations with them, without allowing familiarity. He strives to divide power between himself and his subordinates, takes into account the opinion of the team when making decisions, strives to control only the final result, without going into the details of the process. The employees of such a manager receive fairly complete information about their place in the overall task and about the prospects of their team. The leader encourages creativity.

Passive(permissive, liberal, laissez-faire style). This type of leader is maximally focused on maintaining informal relations with employees, delegating authority and responsibility to them. The manager gives his subordinates complete freedom, they organize their activities independently, and decisions are made collectively. The manager is involved in the production process only when necessary, exercises control, stimulates work and motivates subordinates. Tends to share responsibility for what is happening in the organization with his subordinates.

The use of only one of the three main (classical) styles significantly impoverishes the activity of a leader. It is important to understand that there is no universal or ideal leadership style. The optimality of a particular style is manifested and depends on the specific situation.
Thus, the authoritarian style corresponds to a situation when the situation in the organization is out of control (in the event of a crisis situation). The democratic style is necessary where the work group is at a high level of maturity and where there is good discipline and order. The laissez-faire style can be used if the working group has matured to such a level that it can actively act on the basis of self-government, otherwise this style is harmful. This style gives the best results when leading creative teams.

So, the most popular should be the so-called situational approach to leadership. To the factors determining the situation in production organization, usually include: the specifics of goals and strategy, the level of its development, technology, features of the economic situation in which the enterprise operates, the specifics of the region, the level of responsibility, interest, discipline, qualifications and socio-cultural development of employees.

The situational management style flexibly takes into account the level psychological development each subordinate and the team as a whole. In accordance with this approach, four levels of development of employees and teams are distinguished and, accordingly, four styles of managerial influence are recommended (P. Hersey).

Table 3
Leadership styles focused on the level of development of the team or employee

· Characteristics of the concept of “team”

· Indicators of the level of maturity of the team

· Functions and structure of the team

· Moral and psychological climate of the team

· Social layers of the team

Business conversation- this is, first of all, communication between employees within the same team of a company, enterprise, or organization. Both the process of communication and its results largely depend on those human relations, the moral and psychological climate that is established in the team. These relationships can be influenced and optimized, creating an atmosphere in the team that is most favorable for achieving successful results. But for this it is necessary, first of all, to know what the team is, what its structure is, its functions and the patterns of relationships that develop between employees, as well as between the manager and subordinates.

A team is a group of people united by common goals and similar motives for joint activities that lie in line with public interests (for example, in the field of production, business, education, etc.).

Each team, regardless of the nature of its activities, performs the following: Features:

- implementation certain type labor - productive, entrepreneurial, educational, etc. (production function);

- inclusion of the individual through work in the life of society (social function);

Formation in an individual of qualities necessary for a given type of activity and for society as a whole (educational function).

Team – This is the highest stage of group development. Its distinctive features are:

· the presence of a common and socially significant goal of joint activity;

· personal significance of the common goal for all group members;

· the presence of a special structure of relations between group members, which is mediated by the content of joint activities, its values, principles, goals and objectives.

Team maturity level defined as the group's ability to deliver relevant and realistic common goals, corresponding to the individual goals of each team member, build and, if necessary, change the structure of relationships and interactions to achieve the goals with maximum efficiency.

The following are most often cited as the main indicators of the level of maturity of a team:

· team cohesion(coincidence of assessments and attitudes of group members in relation to the essential aspects of joint purposeful activity);

· team organization(the ability to create and maintain a stable structure in situations of uncertainty, combining a diversity of opinions and forms of proactive behavior with the unity of actions of its participants);

· team focus (social significance set goals, motives for activity, value orientations and norms);

· emotional identity(the ability of a group to empathize with any of its members);

· team harmony(the maximum possible productivity of joint activities with minimal emotional and energy costs for interaction, accompanied by high subjective satisfaction);

· intellectual communication(the ability to create optimal ways of mutual information in determining common positions, judgments, and making group decisions).

According to modern scientific concepts, the structure of relationships in any team is multi-level.

First level- These are formal, regulated relationships. The nature of relationships at this level is determined

a) the division of labor between group members, their official duties and rights;

b) features of the production process;

c) administrative and legal regulation recorded in official regulations, instructions, orders and other regulations.

Second level - this is the relationship of team members to the realized production goal, their motivation labor activity, its social and personal meaning for each employee.

Third level- This interpersonal relationships, mediated by the content of the production process, its goals, objectives, principles and value orientations accepted in the team, “unwritten” moral requirements and traditions.

Fourth level- these are interpersonal relationships not related to the content of joint activity, based on personal sympathy or antipathy, respect or disrespect, etc.

It is important to pay due attention to the development and strengthening of all levels of relationships. But it should be remembered that the first three levels have potential centripetal force and their strengthening contributes to team unity and increased efficiency of its activities. And the fourth level of relations carries a centrifugal charge, and if the emphasis is on its development (for example, through corporate parties, informal communication, etc.), this can lead to weakening, modification, and sometimes even rupture of relationships at the first three levels. And then the violations labor discipline, negligent attitude towards fulfilling one’s duties, mutual responsibility, etc. become the norm labor collective(after all, “we are all our own people”), but the business suffers.

In other words, it can be argued that the first three levels characterize formal (official) group structure, and the fourth - informal (unofficial).

Formal group structure reflects the official distribution between team members service roles. This distribution is determined by production technology or official position workers. Clearly defining the job functions of employees increases their personal responsibility, thereby ensuring the success of the entire enterprise as a whole.

Moreover, in addition to the roles defined staffing table, there are also roles associated with the production process itself, its needs for various types activities. Workers who take on these roles are roughly classified as follows:

· "idea generators" possessing non-standard, creative thinking;

· performers, those who have a reproductive mindset and are conscientious executors of other people’s ideas and plans;

· experts, able to predict and calculate how the proposed idea will “work” - its pros and cons, possible consequences;

· critics, people with a special, critical mindset, often incapable of productive activity, but who identify those negative aspects and bottlenecks in the production process that are not noticed by other workers;

· "clowns"(conventionally humorous name) - some managers recognize the need to have easy-going, non-offensive, sociable people in the team who can lift the mood or defuse a conflict situation in the team.

The manager identifies what type of employee belongs to and, accordingly, determines his place in the team. It is unproductive and unprofitable, for example, to use an “idea generator” in performing work and vice versa, it is useless to reproach a “critic” - they say, it is always easier to criticize, but you try it, do it yourself, etc.

The system of official and social functions of employees (formal structure) is the basis on which informal group structure.

The informal structure is a set of psychological connections and relationships that develop between people who are in direct contact with each other in the process of performing production functions. These relationships are less stable than work relationships, since they arise on the basis of people’s personal, subjective perception of each other. However, for the people themselves, the members of the team, they are of great importance and have a strong psychological impact on them. The fact is that, depending on the nature of informal relations in the team, this or that moral and psychological climate(or microclimate).

Moral and psychological climate of the team determines the attitude of people to the work performed, as well as their attitude towards each other. This is the emotional coloring of the psychological connections of team members, arising on the basis of their relationships, likes or dislikes, differences in characters, inclinations and interests. Psychologists say that everyone contributes something to the atmosphere of the team, and everyone inhales the common air. Indeed, the character and state of the psychological climate of the entire team largely depends on each employee.

The psychological climate of the group can be different: benevolent and unkind, stable and less stable, positive and negative, healthy and unhealthy.

A positive, stable, healthy and friendly microclimate in a team creates in people a feeling of “psychological comfort”, well-being, helps maintain optimism in life, and gives rise to a feeling of satisfaction from their work.

There is a moral and psychological climate on two levels– at the level of the entire institution or enterprise and at the level of a small group of people who are directly and constantly in contact in the process of work. Both levels are important, but each in their own way. For example, the disadvantage that exists in a “large” team can, to a certain extent, be compensated by a good, friendly climate in a micro-team. But it is unlikely that in this case people will become particularly active at the level of the entire team - at production meetings, at social work, in cultural events.

The moral and psychological climate of any team is determined by several parameters, among which the following play a special role:

1.leadership style, which is determined by the relationship between democracy and authoritarianism;

2. group relationship style which ranges from the most personally saturated to the extremely impersonal, formal, dry, bureaucratic. Measurement is also important here, because Work cannot be built on smiles and personal connections alone. In this case, too much begins to depend on personal likes and dislikes, the general level of organization and discipline decreases, and the importance of the formal aspects necessary in any business decreases;

3. degree of personal independence, i.e. the breadth of the sphere within which the employee has the opportunity to act and make decisions independently;

4. help and kindness in relationships;

5. with degree of tolerance, tolerance for different points of view and opinions on issues of an official, and even more so non-productive nature;

6. actually applied scale of rewards and punishments, its flexibility and fairness, positive impact on the motivational sphere of team members. It is very important for a person not only how much he has done and how much he has received, but also the consciousness of the fairness of assessing his contribution to the common cause in comparison with the contribution and “reward” of his colleagues at work.

The moral and psychological community of the team precisely ensures the coherence and cohesion that characterize an efficient and creative team. They appear on three levels:

- as unity of purpose;

- as a community of values;

- as an emotional community, which is based on personal likes and preferences.

The informal structure of a group can be considered on several grounds.

These conflicts begin as business, but quickly develop into emotional. They are rather destructive, because the “opponent-opponent” system itself is eliminated (the manager, in the overwhelming majority of cases, is “always right”), in addition, many current managers do not have sufficient experience and skills in working with personnel, trade unions and legislation weakly protects employee rights.

From the point of view of the problem under discussion, it is important that some managers believe that there is a certain universal style suitable for any situation, or they constantly adhere to only one, even the most progressive style. This inevitably leads to vertical conflicts. An effective leader must skillfully apply various styles, but they must always be adequate to the situation and state of the team he manages. Where it is necessary to act quickly and harshly, for example, in extreme management situations, meetings should not be held to “lean on the team.” In situations that are well controlled and predictable, you can even transfer part of your management functions; this will be perceived as confidence.

Psychological studies have shown that long-term use of only one leadership style leads to professional deformation of the leader’s personality, the development of negative character traits, stereotypes of perception and activity, which negatively affect performance and the moral and psychological climate.

A special case that leads to strong emotional conflicts that are intractable is the leadership style called pseudo-authority. Unfortunately, pseudo-authority is very common and very tenacious. Its psychological essence is unique. Every leader has a natural desire to create some kind of social distance with a managed team, which is a consequence of existing advantages and strong qualities, which determine the effectiveness of activities. This distance simplifies management and stabilizes relationships - the staff does not question the decisions made by the manager, strives to implement them quickly and accurately, treats the manager with respect, and is influenced by his authority. If this distance decreases or disappears, it becomes much more difficult to lead., since the staff develops a different attitude towards the manager (“he’s like everyone else, that’s why...”). Therefore, managers strive to create such distance. But how? In principle there are two ways.

1. The first is due to advanced personal and professional growth. In this case, authority is formed.

2. Second, when the leader himself “does not grow” - due to pressure, barriers and restrictions on the personal and professional growth of the team (literally - "keep and don't let go"). This is pseudo-authority.

The complexity of the problem also lies in the fact that many such leaders actually had serious merit in the past, but then they stopped growing, and decided to maintain the social distance that suited them at all costs.

· reasoning, demagoguery- bright phraseology creates the appearance of significance and scale of activity;

· skepticism- it is often perceived as a manifestation of high intelligence, “the ability to see what is inaccessible to others”;

· paying attention to detail- such leaders, even from the slightest mistake of their subordinates, are able to create an image of a catastrophe that they prevented;

· onslaught- “quick response” without serious preparation, is presented as the ability to anticipate a situation, “keep your finger on the pulse”;

· rudeness and harshness- presented as severity;

· creating an atmosphere of fear- “You have to be afraid of the boss, otherwise there will be no discipline.”

In relationships with subordinates, he is always tactful, understanding their interests and requests, and when monitoring their activities, he focuses not so much on their compliance with formal instructions, but on real results. Such a leader considers it his duty to constantly inform the team about the state of affairs and prospects for the development of the team. With such a communication system, it is much easier to mobilize subordinates to implement the tasks assigned to them.

The democratic style does not at all complicate the implementation of unity of command and in no way weakens the power of the leader. Rather, on the contrary, his real power and authority increase because he controls people without harsh pressure, relying on their abilities and taking into account their dignity.

Under a liberal leader subordinates receive freedom to make decisions and control their own work. The manager takes minimal participation in resolving issues and gives practically no instructions. The liberal style is characterized by a standard formal tone, a lack of praise and blame, as well as cooperation as such. The leader's position is away from the group.

This leadership style is characterized by a lack of scope in activities, lack of initiative and constant expectation of instructions from above, and an unwillingness to take responsibility for decisions and their consequences. As a rule, he is very cautious, inconsistent in his actions, easily influenced by others, inclined to give in to circumstances and resign himself to them, and can cancel a previously made decision without serious reasons.

Sometimes the liberal leadership style is called conniving.

Oddly enough, but for almost half a century of research into leadership styles

There is no clear connection between the effectiveness of the group and one or another leadership style: both democratic and authoritarian styles give approximately equal indicators of productivity.

There is a theory in management that the most effective leadership styles depend on the “maturity” of the performers. Depending on the characteristics of the task being performed, individuals and groups exhibit different levels of “maturity.” The manager must evaluate this degree of maturity and the appropriate style of behavior.

The following levels of maturity of subordinates and their corresponding leadership styles are distinguished.

1.Low level of maturity: subordinates are not capable of completing the task and do not want to take responsibility. Such subordinates require appropriate instructions and strict supervision. The corresponding style is called "command".

2.Average level maturity of subordinates: subordinates want to accept responsibility, but they are not yet capable of completing the task. The leadership style in this situation is called “indoctrination.” Here it is necessary to get subordinates to understand the task, to specifically explain what and how to do. At the same time, the leader must support the desire of subordinates to complete the task under their own responsibility.

3.Moderately high degree of maturity: subordinates can complete the task, but are not ready to take responsibility. A leadership style that matches a given level of maturity of subordinates is called “participative.” Subordinates do not require any specific instructions. The task of a leader is to increase the motivation and involvement of his subordinates. This is achieved if the leader and subordinates make decisions together. The leader provides assistance, but does not impose instructions.

4.High maturity: subordinates are able to complete the task and want to bear responsibility; subordinates are aware of the high degree of their involvement in the task. Here we're talking about on the transfer of powers. The style is called "Delegation".

Numerous studies of the leadership phenomenon have been conducted for decades. They show that no one management style can be considered better than others in all cases. The personal qualities of the leader, his behavior and relationship with team members are essential components of the success of the organization, but additional factors that determine the leadership situation itself can play a decisive role. This:

Needs and personal qualities of subordinates;

The nature of the task being performed;

Environmental requirements and influences;

Information available to the manager;

Official powers of the government.

Depending on the nature of the specific situation, the various ways manuals. This means that a leader must be able to behave differently in different situations; it is only necessary to correctly identify the situation that has arisen and be able to use it. As the situation changes, the leadership style also changes. This is about adaptive leadership. And the choice of style and its implementation is, to a certain extent, an art.

1) the production situation requires it;

2) personnel voluntarily and willingly agree to authoritarian management methods.

Advantages:

Ensures clarity and efficiency of management;

Creates a visible unity of management actions to achieve set goals;

Minimizes decision-making time, in small organizations provides a quick response to changing external conditions;

Does not require special material costs;

In “young”, recently created enterprises, it allows you to more successfully cope with the difficulties of formation.

Flaws:

Suppression of initiative and creative potential of performers;

Lack of effective labor incentives;

Cumbersome control system;

In large organizations

Bureaucracy of the management apparatus;

Low satisfaction of performers with their work;

A high degree of dependence of the group on the strong-willed constant pressure of the leader.

Democratic style: advantages:

Stimulating initiative, revealing the creative potential of performers;

Innovative, non-standard solutions to problems;

Use of material and contractual labor incentives;

Psychological mechanisms of work motivation;

Satisfaction with your work;

Favorable psychological climate in the team.

However, a democratic leadership style is not acceptable under all conditions. As a rule, it works successfully under the following conditions:

Stable, established team;

Highly qualified workers;

Availability of active, proactive, out-of-the-box thinking employees;

Not under extreme production conditions;

Opportunities for significant material costs.

Conditions of this kind are not always available, and besides, these are precisely the conditions that make the use of the democratic style only possible. Turning this possibility into reality is also not an easy task.

A leader's abilities are certain psychological characteristics of a person, which are a condition for a leader to achieve high results in cooperation with subordinates.

Communication skills occupy a leading place in the system of leadership abilities.

They represent a complex structure that consists of perceptual processes that are characterized by a high level of observation. Empathy plays an important role, that is, understanding the mental states of a subordinate, empathy for his feelings and emotions. This allows the manager to find the right individual approach to his employee.

Such an important thing as the attention of a manager to a subordinate is based on this ability.

Communication skills also include:

need for social interaction;

in the need for communication;

in the pursuit of creativity;

in the pursuit of mastering knowledge, skills and abilities in work;

commitment to protecting the interests of subordinates;

taking care of their daily needs;

the desire to intelligently organize the process of activity and education;

the desire to achieve the level of organizing a cohesive team.

Design Abilities enable the manager to correctly build a work plan, make calculations, build schedules for current and future production processes, and create new original projects.

Design abilities enable the manager to approach the production process from the position of rational expediency of every movement of thought and action, and the economy of the entire process.

Organizational skills are expressed in ordering, streamlining, and achieving unity of the production process. The leader not only organizes the activities of his group, but also gives it a certain direction, substantiates the goal, and gives the correct value orientation to his subordinates.

But, each applicant for a leadership position, in addition to the above abilities, must also satisfy certain moral and psychological requirements , namely:

honesty and decency, truthfulness and sincerity, modesty and simplicity, high demands on oneself and others, integrity and integrity;

a developed sense of duty and responsibility, intolerance to shortcomings;

justice and benevolence, respect for subordinates;

impartiality (unbiased attitude) in communicating with them;

objective assessment of the performance of the entire team and individual employees, recognition of the successes of others;

lack of pettiness and pickiness in monitoring their activities;

the ability to remain self-possessed, patient and polite, reasonable under all conditions, not to lose the ability to make reasonable decisions and, under unfavorable circumstances, to show a penchant for humor, which helps in communicating with people.

Control questions:

What is a team?

What is the structure of the team?

Explain the concepts of “leader” and “manager”.

Are they identical?

What relationships are present in the team and what do they depend on? What requirements must a candidate meet? leadership position ? in the literal sense of the word - science... in social group , i.e. in Group Psychology andteam

Abstract >> Psychology G.M. Social psychology , -M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1980. 2. Dontsov A.I. , i.e. in Group Psychology and Psychology G.M. Social , i.e. in Group Psychology and, , -M.: Publishing house... 4. Petrovsky V.V., Shpalinsky V.V. Social Tutorial

1. , -M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1980. 2. Dontsov A.I. for pedagogical students...

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   Test >> Psychology Special section of social psychology Special section of social , i.e. in Group Psychology and– study of group dynamics within . Personality in the group. Two... K., 2005). Systems approach Special section of social in the study small groups and teams